The present invention relates to an automatic programming apparatus capable of generating a temporary development diagram by butting respective planes of three side views by operator control and further displaying a perspective view thereof interlockingly with that temporary development diagram.
Recently, line control system has been applied to machine tools (bendingmachine, lasermachine, punching machine, etc.). In such a line control system, as shown in FIG. 1, an automatic programming apparatus (CAE) 1 having CAD/CAM function and a host machine 2 which is a server are disposed in office and these high order apparatuses are connected to machine tools (NCT/ laser, bender) on site as lower order apparatus through LAN via a terminal 3, terminal 4 and NC unit 5.
An operator generates a development diagram by imaging a solid figure in the brain based on three side views using CAD function of the automatic programming apparatus 1 so as to obtain a processing program for NCT/laser. After that, with the CAM function, an appropriate tool is allocated for a development diagram generated by the CAD or a laser trajectory is obtained, and such a processing program is transmitted to the host machine 2.
An elongation value is used for generation of the aforementioned development diagram. This elongation value is determined depending on the characteristic of a bender for use and a condition particular for user by referring to an elongation value table.
However, in the conventional automatic programming apparatus, the operator has to generate a development diagram by imaging a solid figure in mind. Therefore, if the solid is complicated, nobody than an experienced operator can generate an accurate development diagram.
Further, the conventional development diagram is determined based on the elongation value table and generation of the development diagram depends on development of a figure in the brain of the operator. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain an accurate development diagram fitting to actual condition of a site. Thus, conventionally, the development diagram generated in that manner has been used for only generation of a processing program for NCT/laser.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic programming apparatus for sheet metal working integrated support system capable of obtaining an accurate development diagram easily using an actual elongation value without mentally imaging its solid figure.
To achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet metal working graphic data generation method comprising the steps of: displaying respective planes constituting a solid input based on two-dimensional three side views on a screen; obtaining and displaying a temporary development diagram obtained by butting a butting plane with a reference plane when the reference plane and the butting plane are selectively specified from the respective planes; generating a solid figure by bending the temporary development diagram according to the bending condition; and displaying a perspective view based on the solid figure interlockingly in a region different from the temporary development diagram on the screen.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the butting plane is butted with the reference plane, bending attribute information is retrieved from the bending condition and the butting plane is butted so as to possess an overlapping area corresponding to an elongation value contained in the retrieved bending attribute information.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the solid figure is generated from the temporary development diagram, the temporary development diagram is expressed on three dimensional coordinates, three-dimensional coordinate data indicating the temporary development diagram is subjected to affine transformation based on the bending condition, and a sheet thickness is attached to its result so as to generate the solid figure.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a bending line is attached to the overlapping area.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when no bending attribute information coinciding with the bending condition exists, an estimated elongation value is obtained using finite element method based on the bending condition and the butting plane is butted with the reference plane so as to possess an overlapping area corresponding to the obtained estimated elongation value.
Further, to achieve the above object, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic programming apparatus comprising: a plane synthesizing portion for recognizing a plane having a side specified first to be a reference plane and a plane having a side specified later to be a butting plane, from respective planes constituting a solid inputted based on three side views and for moving the butting plane so that the specified side of the butting plane overlaps the specified side of the reference plane so as to obtain a temporary development diagram; and a solid figure generating portion for generating a solid figure by bending the temporary development diagram according to bending information.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plane synthesizing portion retrieves bending attribute information corresponding to the bending condition from data base, buts the butting plane with the reference plane so as to possess an overlapping area corresponding to an elongation value contained in the retrieved bending attribute information, and adds a bending line to the overlapping area.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the solid figure generating portion expresses the temporary development diagram on three-dimensional coordinates, subjects three-dimensional coordinate data expressing the temporary development diagram to affine transformation based on the bending condition, and adds a sheet thickness to its result so as to generate the solid figure.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the automatic programming apparatus further comprises a perspective view drawing portion for generating a perspective view by subjecting the solid figure to rendering and indicating a corner portion in a different color from the other portions with an enlargement instruction for the corner portion in the perspective view.
Still further, to achieve the above object, according to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a sheet metal working graphic data generation program comprising the steps of: storing information of respective planes constituting a solid inputted based on three side views in a memory; recognizing a plane by recognizing an external frame closed loop by tracing on each side of the respective planes; specifying a side of each of two planes from the respective planes, recognizing a closed plane loop having a side specified first to be reference plane and a closed plane loop having a side specified later to be butting plane; inputting a bending condition; moving the butting plane so that the specified side of the butting plane overlaps the specified side of the reference plane so as to obtain a temporary development diagram; expressing the temporary development diagram on three-dimensional coordinates, subjecting three-dimensional coordinate data expressing the temporary development diagram to affine transformation based on the bending condition, and adding a sheet thickness to a result thereof so as to generate a solid figure; and generating a perspective view by subjecting the solid figure to rendering.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the step for butting the butting plane with the reference plane, bending attribute information corresponding to the bending condition is retrieved from data base and the butting plane is butted with the reference plane so as to possess an overlapping area corresponding to an elongation value contained in the retrieved bending attribute information.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the step for butting the butting plane with the reference plane, when no bending attribute information coinciding with the bending condition exists in data base, an estimated elongation value is obtained using finite element method based on the bending condition and the butting plane is butted with the reference plane so as to possess an overlapping area corresponding to the obtained estimated elongation value.